Son Of Late Chatham Navy Diver Commits To Play Football At Army

The son of a Chatham native and Navy diver who died unexpectedly in 2009 announced his commitment to play football at U.S. Military Academy at West Point earlier in October.

Brycen Widhalm, who was just 19 months old when his father Ken Owens died at 27 after a skydiving accident in Hawaii, will placekick for the Army football team. The commitment was announced Oct. 14.

A Chatham High School graduate and avid soccer player, Owens joined the Navy in 2007. The Ken Owens Memorial Soccer Jamboree — the “Kenny Kup” — has been held in Chatham for over a decade in his memory.

Widhalm’s commitment to play at Army on a full scholarship next fall is a “full-circle moment,” his stepfather Joseph Sanchez said. Widhalm is currently a senior at Cox High School in Virginia Beach where he kicks and punts. He was ranked nationally as the number 1 placekicker in Virginia, according to Sanchez.